AeroVironment
AVAV · Aerospace & Defense
$123.25
4.7%Hexcel
HXL · Aerospace & Defense
$79.62
2.0%The short version
- AeroVironment is the larger business, with $2.0B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $1.9B for Hexcel.
- AeroVironment grew revenue faster (140.9%, against −0.5%).
- Hexcel kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (9.1% operating margin, against −15.7% operating margin).
- Hexcel turned more of its sales into free cash flow (8.3% FCF margin, against −7.1% FCF margin).
- Hexcel earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (6.5%, against −9.1%).
| Latest fiscal year | AVAV · FY26 | HXL · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $6.1B | $6.1B |
| Revenue | $2.0B | $1.9B |
| Free cash flow | −$141M | $157M |
| Net income | −$265M | $109M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 140.9% | −0.5% |
| 5-year growth | 38.0% | 4.7% |
| Share count change | 74.2% | −3.6% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 25.3% | 23.0% |
| Operating margin | −15.7% | 9.1% |
| Net margin | −13.4% | 5.8% |
| FCF margin | −7.1% | 8.3% |
| Return on capital | −9.1% | 6.5% |
| Return on equity | −10.0% | 7.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $115M | $922M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 3.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $508M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 35.9x |
| Piotroski F-score | 3 | 6 |
FY17
AVAV $229M
HXL $2.0B
FY18
AVAV $271M
HXL $2.2B
FY19
AVAV $314M
HXL $2.4B
FY20
AVAV $367M
HXL $1.5B
FY21
AVAV $395M
HXL $1.3B
FY22
AVAV $446M
HXL $1.6B
FY23
AVAV $541M
HXL $1.8B
FY24
AVAV $717M
HXL $1.9B
FY25
AVAV $821M
HXL $1.9B
FY26
AVAV $2.0B
HXL —
AVAV
HXL
FY17
AVAV 9.1%
HXL 17.8%
FY18
AVAV 11.2%
HXL 17.0%
FY19
AVAV 10.8%
HXL 18.1%
FY20
AVAV 12.8%
HXL 0.9%
FY21
AVAV 11.0%
HXL 3.9%
FY22
AVAV −2.2%
HXL 11.1%
FY23
AVAV −33.1%
HXL 12.0%
FY24
AVAV 10.0%
HXL 9.8%
FY25
AVAV 5.0%
HXL 9.1%
FY26
AVAV −15.7%
HXL —
AVAV
HXL
FY17
AVAV −$17.3M
HXL $151M
FY18
AVAV $60.3M
HXL $237M
FY19
AVAV $18.1M
HXL $287M
FY20
AVAV $13.9M
HXL $214M
FY21
AVAV $75.3M
HXL $124M
FY22
AVAV −$31.9M
HXL $96.8M
FY23
AVAV −$3.5M
HXL $149M
FY24
AVAV −$7.7M
HXL $203M
FY25
AVAV −$20.9M
HXL $157M
FY26
AVAV −$141M
HXL —
AVAV
HXL
FY17
AVAV —
HXL 14.7%
FY18
AVAV —
HXL 13.4%
FY19
AVAV —
HXL 14.5%
FY20
AVAV —
HXL 0.5%
FY21
AVAV —
HXL 1.7%
FY22
AVAV −1.2%
HXL 6.4%
FY23
AVAV −22.6%
HXL 8.8%
FY24
AVAV 10.5%
HXL 7.4%
FY25
AVAV 4.8%
HXL 6.5%
FY26
AVAV −9.1%
HXL —
AVAV
HXL
Add another company
Compare up to four at once.
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.